12-Year-Old Boy Cited For Hate Crime, Battery

This is an archived article and the information in the article may be outdated. Please look at the time stamp on the story to see when it was last updated.

MODESTO, Calif. (AP) — A 12-year-old Modesto boy has been cited for a hate crime and battery after allegedly attacking his classmate with sticks and using racial slurs while they waited for the school bus.

The Modesto Bee reports (http://bit.ly/1Vz6GRz ) eighth-grader NuPhaeya Hassen says the boy approached her Aug. 24, holding the sticks while saying he was a Ku Klux Klan member and raised as a “skinhead.” He then hit her with the sticks.

NuPhaeya says she responded by slapping the boy, who then threw rocks at her. The boy’s older sister also assaulted NuPhaeya that day after school.

A police spokeswoman says the sister will also be cited.

The incident has garnered the attention of the local NAACP chapter, which has questioned the Modesto City Schools district’s handling of the matter.